Shots were fired from all sides on Friday as a political firestorm erupted in Washington over a contentious GOP-penned memo accusing top officials at the FBI and the Justice Department of bias and malfeasance.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took his own party to task for releasing the document despite the "grave concerns" of the intelligence community.

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"The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests — no party's, no President's, only Putin's," said McCain, who is in Arizona recovering from treatment for brain cancer.

He implored his party members and President Trump to stop "manufacturing partisan sideshows."

Trump approved the release of the memo over the protests of the FBI and the Justice Department earlier in the day, as he accused their leaders of politicizing the "sacred investigative process."

"A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves," Trump said. "I think it's terrible. I think it's a disgrace what's going on in this country."

FBI Director Christopher Wray, who didn't want the memo released, issued a rallying cry to his colleagues on Friday, thanking them for "standing strong together, and for keeping your faith in this institution that means so much to all of us."

President Trump earlier in the day approved the release and accused leaders at the bureau of politicizing the “sacred investigative process.” (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was more circumspect, releasing a statement saying he has faith in department employees but that "no department is perfect."

Given the intense furor that preceded its release, the memo seems far less explosive than Republicans had claimed, and far less dangerous to national security than Democrats had asserted.

"That's it?" former FBI director James Comey tweeted after it was released.

"Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what?"

The four page document, compiled by House intelligence committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), makes a series of allegations of misconduct on the part of the FBI and the Justice Department in obtaining a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to monitor former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

It alleges that FBI officials did not disclose the political roots of an unverified dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele before using it to seek surveillance of Page.

Donald Trump in the White House

Fusion GPS, the company that contracted Steele, was paid by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. The memo does not mention that Fusion was initially hired by a right-leaning website, or that Steele likely did not know who was paying Fusion for his work.

The document claims that although the FBI had "clear evidence" that Steele was biased against Trump, it did not tell the surveillance court.

But the memo appears to mix up bias with Steele's concern that America's democratic system was under attack. Steele proactively reached out to the FBI in 2016 because he was worried about "whether a political candidate was being blackmailed," Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson said in congressional testimony last year.

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The memo also says that Steele was later suspended and fired by the FBI — but he never actually worked for the FBI.

The document charges the recently resigned FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe confirmed to the House intelligence committee that no surveillance warrant would have been sought without the Steele dossier.

That claim was countered by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calf.) who said McCabe was speaking generally about how any FISA application relies on "each and every component" included.

After President Donald Trump declassified the memo, the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee released it based on classified information that alleges the FBI abused U.S. government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Schiff and others complained that the memo was grossly misleading and that their own report shows just how wrong it is, but Republicans blocked the Dem version from being released.

The memo also took aim at deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who extended the surveillance of Page shortly after Trump took office. Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and is the only person who could fire him.

Asked Friday if he had confidence in Rosenstein or was considering firing him, Trump told reporters, "You figure that one out."

Top Democrats warned Trump using the memo as pretext to fire Justice Department officials could spark a constitutional crisis.

"We write to inform you that we would consider such an unwarranted action as an attempt to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)wrote to Trump.

The lawyer representing Trump in the Russia probe, Ty Cobb, told the Daily News Friday night the President was not considering firing Rosenstein.

Trump is unhappy with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

According to the memo, the Justice Department and FBI obtained the FISA warrant on Page on Oct. 21, 2016, and then had it reauthorized three additional times.

The findings "raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality" of FBI and Justice Department interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and represent "a troubling breakdown" of legal processes, the memo says.

Critics pointed out that the memo shows no wrongdoing or misdeeds, and that it served only to undermine Mueller's investigation into whether anyone close to Trump assisted in Russian interference in the 2016 election.

"In the FISA court, great care is taken in applying for warrants," former criminal defense attorney and University of New Hampshire communications professor Seth Abramson told the Daily News. "The standard of proof is low and they are granted 99% of the time, but that doesn't mean that the federal government isn't diligent in filing warrant applications."

The memo incorrectly states that the feds must meet the "highest standard" of proof for a warrant, which is not true. All that is needed for a warrant is "probable cause," Abramson said.

Trump would be on shaky ground if he attempted to dismiss Rosenstein on the grounds of the memo, he added.

The memo asserts anti-Trump bias at the FBI and reveals that deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein approved an application to extend surveillance of former Trump campaign associate Carter Page. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

"There is nothing in this document that would justify legally, politically or logistically, taking that step," Abramson said.

Page has been on counterintelligence radars for years.

In 2013, he drew the interest of the FBI after meeting with a Russian named Victor Podobnyy. Podobnyy was charged with posing as a junior attaché at the Russian consulate in New York while trying to recruit Page as an intelligence source.

Page applauded Nunes for exposing "unprecedented abuse of process."

Nunes told Fox News he was just getting warmed up.

"This is just the first memo," he said, saying the next will target "the State Department's role in all this."